Maybes and What ifs
by Xtreme Gamer
Summary: No matter how confident she was, no matter how prepared she was, those words would always stop her in her tracks.  AAML Oneshot


Okay, disclaimer time.

I do not own Pokémon, but I'd like to.

"Normal speaking" _"Thoughts"_

**"Maybe"s and "What if"s**

"He's/She's not my boyfriend/girlfriend!"

And there's that familiar sentence again. Those two have said it enough times over the years to have it trademarked. Who am I talking about, you ask? Why none other than Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower. Infact those two have made a habit out of say that whenever someone mentions that they look like a couple. And while it sounded like one of their favorite things to say it was in reality one of Misty's least favorite sentences. In fact she hated saying that each and every time. What she really wanted to say was the complete opposite. She wanted to say that Ash _was_ her boyfriend. She wanted so badly to look him in his chocolate brown eyes and say those three little words. But everytime she came close, everytime she worked up the courage to say those words, she would always be reminded of a few other words, the most common being 'maybe' and 'what if'. Right now she, Ash and Brock were at a Pokémon Center on their way to the next town. Ash was up at the front desk getting his Pokémon examined and keeping Brock from hitting on Nurse Joy. Meanwhile, Misty was off by herself. He thoughts were on a certain Pokémon Master-in-training, and on her feelings for him.

_"Maybe I should tell him how I feel about him. This feeling isn't going to go away until I do,"_ she thought. _"But what if he doesn't feel the same? What if he just wants to stay friends? Maybe I should be satisfied with that."_ There were those words again. Always with the 'maybe's and 'what if's. She was tired of those words always stopping her from telling Ash she loved him. But in reality she sometimes would rather jump in an Ariados web than try to say those three words to the trainer who stole her heart. She thought about telling Brock, hoping he had some advice for her, but one look at him going gaga over Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny or any other pretty face they ran into on their journey killed that idea.

_"Still, I wish I had his courage," _Misty thought. _"He can go up to any girl he wants, tell them he loves them and get rejected time and time again and he always seems to just bounce back in no time."_ That was something she always admired about Brock. He wasn't afraid of rejection. She always had the fear that Ash didn't return her feelings in the back of her mind. That one fear was the driving force behind her hesitation to act. It was also the birthplace of every single 'maybe' and 'what if' that held her back.

_"What am I going to do? If I don't tell Ash soon someone else might come and take him away from me,"_ she thought. Misty was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Ash walk over to her.

"Everything okay, Misty?" he asked. Misty jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, Ash!" she yelled. Ash scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry about that," he said. "You must have really been out of it if you didn't hear me coming. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied. _"No, I'm not okay! My feelings for you are driving me crazy! I love you, Ash! I love you with everything I am! I want to scream it to the heavens that I'm madly in love with you!"_

"Well, alright," Ash replied. "If you need anything I'll be over at the front desk." Ash started to walk away. Misty turned to call out to him, but no words came out of her mouth and the usual 'maybe's and 'what if's started to fill her mind.

_"What are you waiting for, Misty?! He's right there! Don't let him get away... but what if I say the wrong thing? What if I completely screw this up and ruin our friendship? Maybe I shouldn't chance it. Maybe I should just forget this crazy idea."_ She was once again so caught up in her thoughts she almost didn't see Ash stop and face her again.

"You know, a lot of people say friends will always be there to help one another through their tough times, and I guess we've become each others' best friend," he said. This earned him a smile from Misty.

"But to tell you the truth, I want to be more than just a friend you can turn to for support," he continued. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... well... I hope that... one day... we could be... more than... just... friends?" Now Misty was staring at him. She knew he didn't have the best way with words, but somehow she knew what he was saying.

"Yeah... maybe one day we will," she said. Ash smiled, thinking he got his point across. With nothing else to say he headed back to the front desk to pick up his Pokémon and stop Brock from putting the poor nurse through any more of his antics. Once he was gone the smile on Misty's face grew bigger. The 'maybe's and 'what if's were also back, but they were different this time.

_"What if that was Ash's way of telling me he loves me? What if there is a chance? Maybe I should act on it! Maybe this is my chance to finally get what my heart desires!"_

Now that she thought about it... maybe all those 'maybe's and 'what if's weren't so bad after all.

* * *

And there you have it. I know it's not that long and may seem a bit rushed. I really came up with this in only a few minutes.

Please review


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